Half of people have never switched bank account

Only 2% have switched account in past year

A new survey from Which? Money highlights high levels of consumer inertia when it comes to switching bank account, however those that have switched say it’s easy.

A recent Which? survey has found that just 2% of adults have switched current account in the past 12 months and only 5% over the last two years.

But perhaps most staggering of all, is the revelation that 50% of those surveyed have never switched current account at all.

Too much hassle to switch bank account

Of those surveyed that had never switched, 48% of respondents said that moving to a new bank wouldn’t make enough difference. Whilst a third felt that changing current account was too much hassle.

Customers that had actually switched had a far more positive view. 85% of those that had switched felt the process was easy.

When asked why they switched, just over a third said they were fed up with poor customer service from there previous current account provider. To find out which bank accounts are rated best visit best banks for customer satisfaction.

New switching service to launch September 2013

In September 2013, the Payments Council is due to launch a new account switching service designed to help customers switch bank account.

The new service will reduce the time it takes to switch from around 18 to seven working days, provide a switching guarantee that customers can rely on as well as automatically switching incoming and outgoing payments to the new account.

It is hoped that the new process will inject some competition into a stagnant market. Currently around 90% of the market is concentrated with the big five banking groups, namely Lloyds TSB Banking Group, RBS Group, Barclays, HSBC and Santander.

Finding the best current account

If you are looking to switch to current account, there are some good deals on the market. We show the best deals for a variety of scenarios: